REPRESENTATION MATTERS!

Yes, I too long to be a resident of Wakanda. I would move there today if I could. There were so many important messages in the movie; however, I think one of the most important messages is the response the movie has received. For years we’ve heard that Black people don’t support certain types of movies. There are numerous interviews with Hollywood executives who’ve been met with opposition when trying to produce movies that are not stereotypically Black. There has been this assumption that the Black Collective does not support Sci-fi or other genres. That assumption could not be further from the truth. Might I suggest that we have not previously supported those projects in the past because we did not see ourselves represented in them. Representation matters. The box office results are evidence that when we can see ourselves we will support it. Black Panther has broken so many box office records.

Black Americans are often unrepresented in many faucets of American Culture, including the legal profession. Again, representation matters. The representation in Black Panther was awesome. I’ve loved seeing the children dress as various Black Panther characters and saluting each other with “Wakanda Forever.” It is not enough to have one Black character in the movie as the “best friend” or “side kick.” It is important for us to be protagonist, antagonist, powerful fighters, majestic rulers and everything in between. There are very few films where Black people have held all of those roles at the same time. I am grateful for Black Panther and all of the complex issues it touched; however, there are no spoiler alerts in this post. If you haven’t seen it by now, there’s still time. Wakanda Forever!